Juliana Valdez, shown here in an ambulance after her foot was caught in a Garden State Plaza escalator in August. Courtesy of Davis, Saperstein & Salomon

BERGEN COUNTY — A lawyer representing the family of a Bergenfield girl who lost two toes in an escalator accident at a Macy's location says the retailer has failed to replace the machine for more than half a century.

"It's one of the oldest machines in America. It's a 1958 original Westinghouse model that is inherently dangerous," Attorney Sam Davis told NJ.com today. "No expert in the country would tell you that that's a safe escalator, because it's not."

Valdez has undergone 15 surgeries since the accident, costing her two of her toes, according to the suit.

Citing the pending litigation, Macy's declined to comment on Davis' allegations. A spokesperson for the company issued a brief statement saying that Valdez remained in the chain's thoughts and prayers.

ThyssenKrupp Elevator, which is contracted to oversee elevators and escalators at various Macy's locations, including those at Garden State Plaza, confirmed that the machine that injured Valdez was a "mid to late 1950s' model manufactured by Westinghouse."

A spokesman, Sasha Bailey, said the escalator was immediately shut down following the incident in August, and remained out of use as of Wednesday.

"Today we are in the process of upgrading all of the escalators in the store. This involves replacing and upgrading the metal steps and adding a ‘comb’ plate safety switch," he said in an e-mail to NJ.com.

ThyssenKrupp also offered its thoughts to Valdez and her family, though the company declined to comment on the cause of the accident.

In an interview, Davis also alleged that the escalator had a broken support arm, and that Macy's claims video surveillance cameras that could have captured Valdez being caught in the machine were not activated at the time.

"We were hoping to have seen exactly what happened, but Macy's claims none of those were active," he said.

Earlier this year, both Macy's and ThyssenKrupp reached a settlement with the family of a Wantage girl who lost a toe in one of the store's escalators at Paramus Park mall in 2009. Both companies conceded liability in the case, which an attorney for the girl said was highly unusual.

Davis said he intends to explore that incident and others at Macy's locations across the country as he gathers evidence to be presented as part of Valdez's case.

"They've been criticized before for not making the relatively modest capital investment, in requesting these escalators be properly maintained, and instead is having its customers face the consequences," he said.